QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-440

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

99.0240

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

1998:53.53

Object label:

Lobster
Mary Schafer
Flushing, Genesee County, Michigan
1969
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#1998:53.53

Essay:

Mary discovered a picture of this quilt in Florence Peto’s Historic Quilts (1939). Peto credited the name of the design as a reference to the red uniforms of the British soldiers known as “Lobsterbacks” during the American Revolution. Depicted in the appliqué design are lobsters’ pincers and tails. Mary considered this quilt not only as a rare, historic pattern, but also as a tribute to the pioneering quilt study work of Florence Peto. Responding to Schafer’s work, Peto wrote “Do you know I have never seen another ‘Lobster’ quilt since the one pictured in Historic Quilts; I am happy to know you are keeping the design alive.” (Peto in letter to Schafer, February 7, 1968)

Owner's name for the quilt:

Lobster

Quilt top made by:

Schafer, Mary

Quilted by:

Schafer, Mary

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Flushing

Where the quilt was made, county:

Genesee

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt finished?

1969

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Flushing

Quiltmaker's county:

Genessee

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Vida

Quiltmaker's birth date:

4-27-1910

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Born Austria-Hungary 1910; emigrated to USA 1914

Quiltmaker's educational background:

9th grade

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Creamery worker; switchboard operator; book keeper; housewife

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Vida, Josef

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Austrian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Zelka, Julianna

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Austrian

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

6/22/1934

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Schafer, Fred

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

German, Lutheran immigrant

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

Welder for Buick Motors

Number of children:

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Genessee Star Quilters

Where does/did the group meet?

Flint, Michigan.

What are the main activities of the group?

Raffle quilts, hospital quilts, many shows.

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

77"

How long is the quilt?

93"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Mary Schafer

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1969

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Describe where the inscription was found:

top

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

12

Size of quilt blocks:

16 1/2" x 16 1/2"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

Inner 9 3/4" muslin with green scalloped applique edge; Outer 3 3/4" muslin

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

6

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

7

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Parallel lines

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

This is a copy of a quilt found in a Florence Peto book.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

The Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History, East Lansing, MI, July 29-December 31, 2001, Michigan State Univeristy Museum

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Mary Schafer and Her Quilts (1990) book, figure 21, page 21.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Book, Mary Schafer and Her Quilts by Marston and Cunningham; Michigan State University Museum, 1990. Patterns; Templates; Prizes, awards, ribbons, etc. Photos of quilter; Interview with quilter; Clippings or photocopies; Audiotape; Videotape.

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

2/18/1998, Mary Vida Schafer

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Made entire quilt

Who photographed this quilt?

KEVA

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum